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Magnesite, the ultimate solution against CO2?

Magnesite, which the chemical formula is MgCO3, has the ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere in a sustainable manner. It consists of magnesium, carbon and oxygen. One tonne of magnesite is capable of capturing about 500 kg of carbon dioxide. This faculty is called mineral carbonation, it results from a reaction between magnesium (or calcium) and CO2 that causes the formation of so-called stable inorganic carbonates. These have no impact on the environment.

This rock is very rare on the planet. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for it to be formed. Currently, there is only one deposit still active on Earth, it is located in Australia. But researchers at Trent University in Ontario, Canada with the cooperation of the Canadian Ian Power were able to make it in less than 72 days at room temperature. It was already possible to manufacture it easily at temperatures between 60 and 90 ° C but at this level it was necessary to make energy expenditure and thus produce CO2.

The researchers used polystyrene microbeads to act as a catalyst, promoting and accelerating the chemical reaction that allows the formation of the mineral. It remains to be seen whether the experiment can be replicated on an industrial scale.

Calcite, which is very abundant on Earth, can also capture CO2 in large quantities. However, it is very sensitive to bad weather, rain, acidity. It dissolves quickly and unfortunately releases its carbon reserves. While magnesite is stable and carbon dioxide is captured permanently for millions of years.

There is currently 3200 gigatonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere, or 3200 billion tons of carbon dioxide! And every year it is 40 billion tons that are produced by mankind and are added to this gargantuan mass.

CO2 production by energy worldwide
https://w3ask.com/co2-production-energy-worldwide/

This graph shows the proportion of CO2 generated by each type of energy in the world. Coal is the most damaging, followed by petroleum, then ...

CO2 emissions by country in the world
https://w3ask.com/co2-emissions-country-world/

The following table, accompanied by the above map indicates the amount of CO2 emissions in millions of tonnes for each country in the world. ...

CO2 emissions per capita by country in the world
https://w3ask.com/co2-emissions-capita-country-world/

The data on CO2 emissions per capita and per country have been transcribed in the table below, as well as on a world map. We can see that Saudi ...

CO2 emissions per capita in Europe
https://w3ask.com/co2-emissions-capita-europe/

Here is the quantity of CO2 emissions per inhabitant, expressed in equivalent tonnes of CO2, in Europe. With a map and a table. The main sources ...

CO2 emissions by country in Europe
https://w3ask.com/co2-emissions-country-europe/

Here is the total quantity of CO2 per country in Europe, expressed in millions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent. We see that Germany comes in first ...

Magnesite, the ultimate solution against CO2?

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